Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $35.22 Million Stock Position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its position in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 754,876 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 53,023 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.75% of New Jersey Resources worth $35,215,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 9,400.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 665 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 69.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on NJR shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of New Jersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. New Street Research set a $51.00 price objective on New Jersey Resources in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.50.

New Jersey Resources Trading Down 1.0 %

NJR traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $47.00. 99,141 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 521,876. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.15 and a beta of 0.58. New Jersey Resources Co. has a one year low of $40.62 and a one year high of $51.95. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $47.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.89.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 15.72%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources's payout ratio is presently 54.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other New Jersey Resources news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 1,173 shares of New Jersey Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $58,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 22,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,132,450. The trade was a 4.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

New Jersey Resources Company Profile

New Jersey Resources Corporation, an energy services holding company, distributes natural gas. The company operates through four segments: Natural Gas Distribution, Clean Energy Ventures, Energy Services, and Storage and Transportation. The Natural Gas Distribution segment offers regulated natural gas utility services to approximately 576,000 customers in Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, and Sussex counties in New Jersey; provides capacity and storage management services; and participates in the off-system sales and capacity release markets.